Online communication between home and

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

is the use of

digital telecommunication Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point or ...

to convey information and ideas between

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

s, students,

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

s, and school

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * ...

. As the use of

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...

and the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

becomes even more widespread, these tools become more valuable and useful in education for the purposes of increasing learning for students, and facilitating conversations between students, parents, and schools.

Overview

Online communication emphasizes 21st century skills,

self-directed learning Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

self-advocacy The term self-advocacy, which means speaking up for oneself and one's interests, is used as a name for civil rights movements and mutual aid networks for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The term arose in the broader civil ...

, global awareness, and thinking skills for learners.Watson, J., Gemin, B., & International Association for K-12 Online, L. (2009). Management and Operations of Online Programs: Ensuring Quality and Accountability. Promising Practices in Online Learning. International Association for K-12 Online Learning Utilizing online communication methods, schools help students develop

Netiquette Etiquette in technology, colloquially referred to as netiquette is a term used to refer to the unofficial code of policies that encourage good behavior on the Internet which is used to regulate respect and polite behavior on social media platforms ...

, and technical and computer skills. In addition, teachers can provide parents with frequent information about school programs and their children's progress through automated e-mails, official

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

s and

learning management system A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The lear ...

s. This communication can be achieved either synchronously or asynchronously, providing greater time flexibility. With online communication, learning may occur outside traditional school hours as students participate in collaborative activities, like reading and responding to peer posts in online forums,

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into Causality, cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome oc ...

s, group projects, research papers, and current events assignments. In addition, online communication can connect a wide range of individuals and increase the diversity of perspectives that learners are exposed to. However, not all parents, students, or teachers have access to unlimited internet access or the digital technology necessary to participate in online communication, and it may be costly to initially implement the

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

, hardware, and

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

. Furthermore, schools must provide

orientation Orientation may refer to: Positioning in physical space * Map orientation, the relationship between directions on a map and compass directions * Orientation (housing), the position of a building with respect to the sun, a concept in building de ...

to the online environments and

technical support Technical support (abbreviated as tech support) is a call centre type customer service provided by companies to advise and assist registered users with issues concerning their technical products. Traditionally done on the phone, technical suppor ...

to ensure that all potential users are ready to participate. Teachers will also need to spend additional time online as active participants in the communication activities (e.g. act as the moderators of discussions). In addition, the immediacy of online communication can lead to students and parents' unreasonable expectations that teachers be 'on-call' at all times.Southern Regional Education Board (2003). Essential Principles of High-Quality Online Teaching: Guidelines for Evaluating K-12 Online Teachers. During the COVID-19 pandemic many students were abruptly forced to move their education to an online platform. Students at first were largely unprepared for the rapid shift to online-only learning and struggled to adjust, while at the same time they encountered a lack of coping resources.

COVID-19 dit

During 2019 the world was put into a state of crisis due to the Coronavirus pandemic, often referred to as COVID-19. This forced a majority of cities across the world to move work and school online. A large majority of schools ranging from elementary schools to universities were forced to move their schooling online. "It is estimated that 1.5 billion students worldwide have been impacted by Covid-19 (Teräs et al. 2020) with much face-to-face teaching rapidly moving to the online environment". Many students and faculty were not prepared for this sudden change to the online format and there were a-lot of challenges that came with this. Julie Apker states in her research article "students at first were largely unprepared for the rapid shift to online-only learning and struggled to adjust, while at the same time they encountered a lack of coping resources (e.g., reduced access to instructors and classmates, lack of counseling and social networks) (Kaufmann, Vallade, & Frisby, 2021; Wang et al., 2020). As COVID-19 evolves, students still encounter stress related to pandemic-impacted learning environments" this change made it hard for students to get appropriate coping resources as many students felt added stress due to the change of online learning and the pandemic in general as many were forced to stay in their homes longer than they are used to. This meant that people were getting cabin fever of sorts and not getting the face to face interaction that many humans need. The move also lead to problems with international students not being able to break the communication barrier online and some of these students felt as though this change drastically effected their ability to communicate questions with professors and get the help that is needed when learning. It is common for there to be language barriers between international students or anyone that is learning in a language that is not their first but when classes were in person it allowed them to have non verbal cues which helped bridge some of these gaps. When students were sent online it made it hard for there to be any other form of communication besides verbal and if you are unfamiliar with certain words learning can be a struggle. This is not even taking into account that people talk differently and it is harder to hear people when they are talking on a video camera vs in person. It also made it hard for people to interrupt class and ask questions. Covid also affected the communication between students who were trying to get help from tutors, between some students having a language barrier and others trying to figure out how to learn via and online platform it made bridging the gap extremely difficult for students.

Online communication between parents and school

Online communication between parents and schools are online methods that serve as a

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

for parents and teachers to exchange ideas. For teachers and administrators, online communication makes it easier to reach the parents and build the partnerships with parents. Online communication allows parents to receive real-time information about their child's performance and activities at school, and flexible opportunities to ask questions and provide information to teachers and school administrators. Currently, one third of internet users are children or adolescents (Berman & Albright, 2017). Lenhart (2015) indicates that an estimated 71% of adolescents in 2015 reported using Facebook, and that social media use is typically enacted in more than one domain. This quote indicates that a vast majority of internet users are children, making them extremely comfortable with online platforms and technology.

Benefits

Creating

mode Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

s for online communication can increase parent participation in their children's education, which in turn increases students’ interest in their learning. Online communication increases parents’ understanding of classroom procedures,

philosophies Philosophical schools of thought and philosophical movements. A Absurdism - Action, philosophy of - Actual idealism - Actualism - Advaita Vedanta - Aesthetic Realism - Aesthetics - African philosophy - Afrocentrism - Agential realism - ...

and policies. Parents then feel more involved in their child's school and more connected to the teacher. In general, online communication improves parents’ attitudes toward conferencing with teachers and administrators. This style of communication allows for more asynchronous communication and greater flexibility. With online communication, parents can initiate conversations and express concerns to teachers and school officials easily. In addition, informal communication through online chatting or

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

s can reduce parents’

anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...

of meeting face-to-face with teachers and/or school officials. When possible, online communication can also offer comfort through anonymity.

Challenges

Though most of the time, teachers and parents want to establish communication, there are some challenges that teacher and parents need to face together. The most common challenges involve parent's ability to use the

, their access to consistent internet access and

language barrier A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages, or even dialects in some ...

s. There may be financial costs incurred by the school, if they provide

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to parents in order to make online communication more inclusive. Some teachers have noted a "huge volume" of aggressive emails or messages from parents due to the accessibility of online communication apps. Teachers have also felt the need to respond during the evenings and weekends with expectations of daily communication from parents.

Online communication between students and teachers

Online communication between teachers and students facilitates the exchange of ideas and

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

. Online communication allows students to access learning materials beyond school hours and develop relationships with peers and teachers.

Benefits

The creation of

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, and ...

and

social networks A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for a ...

means that knowledge is now collective and readily available online for students to access and contribute to. Promoting online communication between teachers and students creates opportunities for students to receive feedback and assistance from teachers and peers outside the regular school day and classroom. Student can e-mail or post questions, add their opinions to peer-discussions, and check official websites for pertinent information. Through online learning communities of teachers and peers, students can build relationships with other users and establish a sense of both

connectedness In mathematics, connectedness is used to refer to various properties meaning, in some sense, "all one piece". When a mathematical object has such a property, we say it is connected; otherwise it is disconnected. When a disconnected object can be s ...

and belonging. Some students, who are less likely to participate in face-to discussions, are more likely to participate in online discussions and activities. This online communication enhances the strength of the relationships between students and both their peers and teachers.

Challenges

Student can demonstrate antipathy towards online communication or peer

interdependency Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made. Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its struc ...

in internet forums. In order to be productive, online communication between students and teachers requires

trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

interactivity Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...

, common expectations and shared goals. Some students expect teachers to be on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, placing unreasonable expectations upon teachers. In addition, most students spend participate in online communication from home, which means that parent's help is often required, but may not be available. Finally, students may lack the technical skills or access to the technology necessary to involve themselves in online communication.

Role of teachers

Teachers have great responsibility in the establishment of online communication and communities with students, because of their leadership position. Several of their in-class characteristics must extend into the online environment, such as their ability to guide student behavior and learning. With online communication, teachers must model and demonstrate appropriate Netiquette throughout their persistent involvement. Teachers should also encourage their classes to evolve into learning communities in which group processes have the power to influence the behavior of individuals. These online environments should foster a sense of

openness Openness is an overarching concept or philosophy that is characterized by an emphasis on transparency and collaboration. That is, openness refers to "accessibility of knowledge, technology and other resources; the transparency of action; the per ...

, friendliness, and

, so that problem solving becomes a group function.

Examples

Teachers and students can e-mail questions and answers to each other about course content and assignments. Schools and teachers can maintain official websites with important information about events, assignments, and resources that students can utilize outside class. Both students and teachers can post messages in online forums as a part of homework assignments. In this way they can present different points of view that they don't have any chance to present in the classroom. Online study groups allow students to maintain relationships with their peers from a distance. These study groups can be created within a classroom's social networking site, allowing users to connect with each other directly, beyond typical chat rooms and forums. Teachers can develop

virtual tour A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location, usually composed of a sequence of videos, still images or 360-degree images. It may also use other multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, text and floor map. It is dis ...

virtual education Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

, and virtual learning environment for their students in multi-user virtual environments (MUVE).

Technology and tools

The most widely used online communication tool is e-mail between teachers, which provides opportunities for asynchronous communication, instantaneous distribution to a mass audience, mobile access, and file exchange. Teacher-created websites provide online access to administrative information, calendars, links,

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

s, etc. Internet forums allow learners and teachers to articulate ideas, give and receive feedback, reflect on the perspectives of others, and receive clarification of concepts. social networking sites are used for focused and open communication between users. Blogs allow individuals to express their ideas in greater detail and with

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradit ...

. During this pandemic there were many platforms that allowed teachers to get in touch with their students and still teach from home. One very popular videoconferencing software site is called

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...

, this allowed students to receive a specific code to that particular class and allow a video stream of the class to continue education. Another popular video streaming site was

Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft, as part of the Microsoft 365 family of products. Teams primarily competes with the similar service Slack, offering workspace chat and videoconferencin ...

, this streaming service is Microsofts video conferencing software that is linked with teachers and students school email. Due to the reduced resources students used many only tools to help them understand their school work. Some of these tools were Khan Academy, Chegg, Quizlet, and Grammarly. Along with these resources, some of the most impactful features of online education were the use of personal video calls with professors, e-mail, discussions boards, and blogs. These resources allowed students to still maintain their education while doing it from a safe place in the home instead of being in the classroom and being at risk.

Course management systems (CMS)

Various course management systems are designed specifically for facilitating online communication in education. Effective course management software tends to include more information, widgets, functions, and customization options than teacher-created websites. Most course management systems include: * class information: calendar,

syllabus A syllabus (; plural ''syllabuses'' or ''syllabi'') or specification is a document that communicates information about an academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curric ...

, details of prerequisites, assessment information, and a FAQ * a notice board with up-to-date course information * learning materials: course content, copies of visual aids, reading materials and links to community resources * assessment opportunities:

self-assessment In social psychology, self-assessment is the process of looking at oneself in order to assess aspects that are important to one's identity. It is one of the motives that drive self-evaluation, along with self-verification and self-enhancement. Sedi ...

, peer-assessment, and formal assessment * communication support: e-mail,

threaded discussion Conversation threading is a feature used by many email clients, bulletin boards, newsgroups, and Internet forums in which the software aids the user by visually grouping messages with their replies. These groups are called a conversation, topic ...

s, and a chat room * differentiated access rights for teachers, administrators, and students * document authoring tools * administrative tools: student

tracking Tracking may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Tracking, in computer graphics, in match moving (insertion of graphics into footage) * Tracking, composing music with music tracker software * Eye tracking, measuring the position of t ...

capabilities, statistics, and

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

Overview

COVID-19 dit

Online communication between parents and school

Benefits

Challenges

Online communication between students and teachers

Benefits

Challenges

Role of teachers

Examples

Technology and tools

Course management systems (CMS)

References

Further reading